Attempts to 'demonise' Taliban must be rejected: PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that for the sake of sustainable peace in Afghanistan, attempts to 'demonise' the Afghan Taliban and fuel internal tensions must be rejected by the global community.

Addressing the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Summit, PM Imran said such a myopic approach would compound the challenges faced by the region and not resolve them.

The premier said that after decades of war, there finally was a "distinct possibility" for establishing peace and stability in the war-torn country and urged the international community to engage with Afghanistan at this “critical juncture” as abandoning the country would lead to civil strife and economic meltdown.

Imran said the world was faced with two choices at present: either abandon Afghanistan or engage with it to avert any humanitarian disaster.

In case the global refused to engage with the Taliban-led government, the people of Afghanistan will suffer greatly. This will also result in civil war, exodus of refugees, drug trafficking, and transnational organised crime, the premier added.

However, a stable Afghanistan, on the other hand, will bring stability to the entire region, according to Imran.

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The premier added that even though the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban was bloodless and a possibility of civil strife was also averted, Afghanistan still faced impending humanitarian crisis and economic meltdown, calling them "formidable and urgent" challenges.

The prime minister further said that transition of Afghanistan from a country dependent on foreign aid to a sustainable economy was another huge challenge faced by the country.

He further said that the Taliban must take every measure to ensure an inclusive government in the country as peace and inclusivity were linked. The Taliban also needed to ensure that the Afghan soil will not be used by terror outfits against any country.

Imran maintained that there should be an end to efforts to demonise the Taliban as the approach would compound challenges faced by Afghanistan. Instead, he said, there should be a collective interest to prevent any renewed conflict amid efforts to stabilise the country.

He said after the Taliban takeover, Pakistan kept on its constructive engagement with the Taliban and the bilateral and transit trade through Afghan border crossings remained open.

Pakistan is committed to a sovereign Afghanistan which would be at peace with itself and its neighbours, concluded the premier.